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Lewis Hamilton could lose his Ferrari Formula 1 seat at the end of the 2026 season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will retire from the sport.
Hamilton’s Ferrari contract runs until 2027 but there are believed to be exit clauses at play this year. Ferrari have previously guided legendary drivers like Michael Schumacher towards the exit door without explicitly dropping them.
Hamilton recently turned 41 but it seems, based on the length of his deal, that he’s willing to race for another two seasons at least. Fernando Alonso, his longtime rival, will turn 45 this year.
Has Damon Hill just identified what’s going wrong for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?
When Sebastian Vettel lost his Ferrari drive in 2020, he extended his career for another couple of years by joining midfield team Aston Martin.
Lewis Hamilton finds Aston Martin F1 project ‘attractive’
According to a report from Dutch outlet RaceXpress, Aston Martin have become an ‘attractive’ option for Hamilton in the event that he does leave Ferrari.
Even though they haven’t won a race since their 2021 rebrand, their ‘ambition’ is obvious. Billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll has recruited a series of world-class engineers to turn the team into champions during the upcoming rules cycle.
If Lewis Hamilton races for another team after Ferrari, who should it be?
The headline acquisition was Adrian Newey, who has recently taken over as team principal but will primarily be focused on car design. Hamilton has never worked with Newey, one of the greatest minds in F1 history, and may wish to do so before he retires.
Aston Martin are chasing Max Verstappen, as well as Hamilton’s teammate Leclerc, so the British driver may not be at the top of their list. But it’s still the kind of Hollywood move that could appeal to Stroll.
Charles Leclerc has set Ferrari a generous target for 2026
Aston Martin would welcome Leclerc with ‘open arms’ if he decided to leave Ferrari. The Monegasque must decide whether he can still achieve his championship ambitions at Maranello, seven years after he joined.
But Leclerc’s love for Ferrari shouldn’t be underestimated. Indeed, RaceXpress explain that the team won’t even need to be title contenders in 2026 to keep their star asset.
‘Leclerc will stay’ as long as he can fight for podiums and occasional victories. He finished in the top three seven times last year without winning a race.
Aston Martin can offer him an ‘escape route’ if Ferrari’s SF-26 is a ‘complete technical failure’ and there is ‘no prospect of recovery’ in 2027.
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